jasonman's FIRE journal

[jasonman]

Before starting, here's a link to my first post. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6842

Basically, I'm almost set to bail out of the working world for awhile, having worked on my accumulation phase for almost 8 years now. Looking back on it, I sometimes wish I never heard of early retirement and I can see why a lot of people don't see this process to the end. It's just really exhausting and stressful. My opinion is that there's a certain timeframe that's optimal for a FIRE success rate. If you don't spend enough time on it, your final pool will be insufficient. But if you spend too long at it, it's increasingly likely that you'll get discouraged and eventually drop out.

It may be like that for me, it feels like I'm only doing FIRE by attrition, in a sense. Things have changed a great deal in my life over the years, and not for the better - with the tech boom, my area is now much busier, more competitive, more expensive. It's also changed work-wise - restructuring has left things unsettled and without clear direction, which is never a good place to be. There's also been a lot of changes in my mindset. I don't feel excited about my career any more and am in need of a long break, perhaps even a complete career change or even just a retirement of sorts. Being in my early 40s, it's not unheard of. The meeting of all of those factors were really the deciding point to sell our current home and move to somewhere a bit more lifestyle-friendly. For various factors, Virginia Beach came out as the place we would go: it's good a good job market should we want to jump back in, it's not just a tourist economy like other beach towns, it's fun, not so busy, and relatively inexpensive.

I haven't told many people that I know about the move except for a few close friends. One friend took it kind of hard, but I tried to frame it in another way for him. In essence, I asked him how long HE was planning on staying, which took him by surprise a bit. He's seen the changes just as I have, but I don't really think he's ever considered that big of a change, even though the area has not done him any favours. Another friend took more to the idea and they are seriously considering a move too. I've told one person at work about the move - we started to share about our future plans after getting into a discussion about financial independence. As it turns out, he's going to be moving out of the area too, for similar reasons to mine. Hopefully we'll keep in touch after we go our own ways.

In more recent news, we've been approved for the home mortgage, so we're now finally able to write offers. We've already been down to the area and have seen a lot of inventory and neighbourhoods, so we're going to be buying remotely. The realtor we're using deals with a lot of transplants, so she already has a good process for this. The usual contingencies will still be there (loan, appraisal, inspection) but we will need to also put an additional one in, namely that we will need to physically see the place. Normally that goes without saying, but with us being out-of-town, we need to spell it out. My wife is self-employed, so will be going out there to give the final OK. But, starting this work is adding a new level of reality to the process. We've already started to to purge / sell / donate our non-essentials and we'll be starting to pack soon. I'm not excited about the move, but I am excited to start a new chapter of life, one that has a lot of fun and new experiences.

I don't have much planned in terms of any activities once I get there. I feel like, after a sufficient amount of decompression, something interesting will manifest for me. And, with the investment income, this new direction won't even need to be financially viable. It's a bit weird to me to not have to think about that, usually that's a big constraint in my mind. But I want to give myself that chance to discover something new.

[steveo73]

Hi Jason. You sound a little burnt out. I feel the same way. I'm under a lot of pressure at work however I think focussing on FIRE has somewhat helped me.

Good luck with your move and I hope it all works out.

[jasonman]

Hi guys

Thanks for your support. Yes, I definitely think I'm well into the burn-out stage. I often thought about taking a sabbatical or other kind of longer break, but because of the high costs and career pressure around here, I felt like this would just provide temporary relief and would definitely hurt me in the long run.

I also think that I put way too much pressure on myself, especially in the early stages. I had stress from my job, was worried about paying off my house and then FIRE came along, got stuck in my brain, and it was just another thing to worry about. For years, I worked my full-time job and then camped out at a rental property all weekend, doing all of the refurbishment myself, then managing them afterward to boot. I learned a great deal, some of it was fun, but it was fueled at least half out of panic, not because I necessarily enjoyed it.

A lot of the panic really came from worries about my career longevity. When I started, the Big 4-0 was only a few years away and, from what I was seeing myself and had heard from others, a career in programming takes a dramatic downturn after you cross that line. So, I felt like I had only a few years to FIRE or I'd not just be unemployed, I'd be unemployable. Maybe I was overstating things, but still to this day, I don't think it was by all that much. Before we decided to move, I did go on some interviews to test the waters. My resume only showed my latest ten years in the business and I felt that some employers were genuinely disappointed to see a middle-aged candidate.

Is this a trend of the future? Maybe we're in for a gradual shift in the workforce mentality, where everyone simply takes it for granted that they've got only 15-20 years of work and they all plan to FIRE in that time as best they can.

[Barlotti]

I've wondered myself whether more and more people will become unemployed as they enter their 50s. I've seen plenty of 50 something women, in particular, lose their jobs unexpectedly. I didn't know there was so much bias for youth in the tech field.

I'm sorry to hear that you feel burnt out, but it's nice to know that you've reached your goal.

[jasonman]

I didn't know there was so much bias for youth in the tech field.

When I first got into it, I didn't even think about ageism, but you hear and see more and more and it does become more apparent. I think it may also be a consequence of the demand for this profession. Here's a stat: the number of programmers doubles every 5 years. So, at any time, half of all programmers have less than 5 years of experience. During this type of rapid growth, I'm thinking that the new recruits overwhelmingly come from younger people / new grads. (Granted, there are people that change careers late in life, but I assume those types of moves are to something slower-paced, not faster.)

So, you have a culture of youth combined with long hours and a perpetual learning curve, it's bound to shift the demographics and introduce biases. Plus, it's a very "whole life" job, where you need to invest a lot of personal time as well as the normal 9-5, and folks with families may not want to do that. So, some level of discrimination is self-imposed too.

As for the 50+ milestone, I can see the same thing happening with an increasing number of jobs, albeit maybe less pronounced. Having a very physical job (e.g. construction and the trades) must have a sharp decrease in labor participation after a certain age.

I'm a bit saddened by this, but I partially also take it as a natural consequence of the job. Even though I don't consider myself OLD, I know I'm not going to be an astronaut, a dancer, a football star or a stuntman either. And I'm ok with that. But, I think what bothers me about it is that, for software, it's not obvious at first and it goes unsaid a lot of time. We all know of jobs that are mostly for younger people, but there's a lack of awareness (or maybe a lack of admission and some shame) that this sometimes applies to software too. If people knew about the career lifespan going in, they could just plan for it and it would be better.

[thrifty++]

You sound quite despondent Jasonman. Great news that you have an exciting move to Virginia ahead though and that you are so close to FI in your early 40s.
My god I cant believe that you have not had more than a 3 week break for 20 years! I guess that is probably more common in USA though. Sounds like you totally need a sabbatical. Maybe even a couple of months. I have had a few big breaks in the last few years of 1 to 3 months. It has been so worthwhile each time even though it affects finances (much less than you would think though).

Gosh I had really not thought about the age thing in programming. I guess it is probably true it has more of a bias towards under 40s. I have thought about shifting into that field at some point as an alternative. But now that I am 33, maybe it is not a good industry to move towards. I think my current industry favours age and the older you are the more you get paid, so a little bit the opposite.

[steveo73]

One thing that I'll state about working for a certain time period is that I think working for 50 years and then retiring is a rough deal for anyone. I think lots of people need more flexibility such as more holidays or sabbaticals or whatever.

The thing is lots of people just think working full time for so long is something that you do.

I feel burnt out right now and I can relate to this journal. I work in IT as well. I'm a project manager with a development team that I also manage. The pressure is intense. There is a guy in my team who is 55. I'm positive that he is also frugal and he could retire now. He is still working but his attitude is really good. He doesn't get stressed, doesn't care about promotions or whatever work he does. He just plods along and does what he is supposed to do. He also makes comments that certain shitty aspects of the job are my problem because I'm the manager and then he laughs.

[zakadamsgt]

Good stuff jasonman - although I know you're going through a transition and it's challenging, you sound like you're in a much better spot than so many others that haven't the discipline for FIRE. The ageism thing, I believe is real and I'm coming to terms with the same thing. I'm a chemical engineer and work in water treatment and have always considered my self the "young gun" and highly employable. I'm currently entertaining leaving my current role to go back to my old company for a significant pay increase. I'm 36 and estimate another 4 years of work to FIRE, maybe sooner. Making the move could accelerate it and your post makes me consider my age employability in the coming years.
best of luck in VaBeach!

[jacob]

http://simple-living-in-suffolk.co.uk/2 ... e-of-life/

Age 50:60
...
To be honest, if you are working for The Man, just don’t expect to for most of this time. As a test, look around your office and take the average age of the oldest 25%. It should be in the 50s. If it’s less, there’s a message in there for you that’s worth listening to.

PS: This sample method is biased in up-or-out professions. For example, in academic research you'll find that the average age of the oldest 25% is pretty high... but that's only because you're not counting the 90% who left at that age.

Bonus: http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2015/0 ... -tech.html

[jasonman]

Hi again everyone

I hadn't expected the ageism thing to really resonate with so many people, but if my posts have made anyone take a second look at their own situation, I'm glad. Awareness of the issue is sometimes all it takes to make a course correction.

thrifty++, I don't necessarily feel despondent, I'd classify it more as just beaten. A few years ago, I really wanted to retire here in CA, but I've now realized what an uphill battle that would be. Not only are the costs really high here, but our quality of life is through the floor. Even socially, our friends are too busy working to even get together so we don't even see them. It's funny, I have a couple of friends who escaped the Bay Area and now that they're out of town, a visit with them is more special, so we all see them more now than when they were local.

I've realized that there's pretty low benefit to staying, and I'd be simply making things harder on myself for no real reason. So, when my wife and I had that "come to Jesus" moment, the decision was pretty easy. And this shift was just the latest in many mindshift moments since I started my FIRE plan. Now that I look back, this journey has taught me quite a few lessons and finance was a smaller part of the whole experience than it seemed at first glance.

But, yes, my plan is really helping me keep a smile on my face and get through these last few months and I think this journal will help too. I'm trying not to make it too much of a ramble, apologies if I take things off topic.

One of the things that I haven't mentioned yet about the lack of time off is my immigration status in the US, which greatly affected things. Up until recently, I've been on a long string of various work visas and so if I were to take extended time off without a formal position, technically I'd have to pack my things and move out of the US. And, since the employment was pretty steady, one year turned into the next and before you know it, many years have passed and all I really did was work.

That's part of the reason that I'm so motivated to make this happen. Time slips by so fast, especially if you don't have a change in routine. So I've learned that if you come up with a goal for yourself, you've really got to be aggressive and pursue it, otherwise it will easily slip by. Anyway, this is supposed to be a journal, so here's some latest updates:

On the VaBa home front, we've now identified a handful of homes we want and the realtor has been putting hi-res videos up on a private YouTube channel for us to look at. Watching them really gives a better feel for the home than just the pictures, it's extremely helpful. Once we see some that look good, we'll write on them and see what happens. It still is interesting to me how much housing prices vary across the country. In the new area, we can get a nicer home for less than half the cost and a lower property tax bill too. We've been doing actual work too: getting together packing materials and boxes, starting the packing up, and making a punch-list and estimates for what we're going to fix on the house before it goes on the market. I'm trying not to get unrealistic as to how much it'll fetch on the market, but it's good encouragement when our contractor friend thinks our price expectations are low.

I also broke the news of my move to another old friend yesterday. He was pretty happy for me and definitely sees the logic in cashing out during the housing boom here. My sister is in a similar situation, housing-wise. She put a huge downpayment on a home in an expensive city a few years ago, things kept rising and she has even more equity now. Personally, though, she's going through a rough patch and I've been suggesting she sell, invest that money and move to a cheaper city. The city she lives in is not doing her ANY favors: everything is high except for the wages. It's funny though: when she talks about moving, in the same breath she mentions buying again immediately. But when I suggest she actually invest part of it (or God Forbid invest it all and rent for a bit until she actually figures out a viable new direction) , she gets skittish, like she doesn't quite BELIEVE what I tell her about my own investments. She'd rather sink the whole nest egg into one property so she can only *slightly* lower her payment. But, I've been beating the investment drum to so many people for years and I've found that most just politely ignore it all or say something like "hmm, sounds RISKY, I've heard investing is RISKY, who would want THAT?"

Good article links, Jacob, thanks. A lot of the stories on that post really resonated with me, but how horrible that they were talking about that co-worker suicide. I've been through something like that once before, though that specific situation was caused by a long bout of unemployment. But still, he was an older man in a high-pressure field, it's just a bad combination. There was a youtube channel I remember watching a while ago, called "Over 50 and out of work". It was some interviews for a documentary about this very topic. Most of the layoffs occurred around the Great Recession time period so age may not have been a big factor in the layoffs, but it's clear that it was a big factor in the subsequent job searches.

Work-wise, things have been ramping a bit, to my slight dismay. More activities are being planned, and since I'm the most senior staffer, I'm being pushed into a larger / leadership role, which I'm a little reluctant about. Because of where my head is these days, I'm not sure how good of a job I'm going to do, and I don't want to put anything at risk because I dropped the ball. But, this type of discussion may spark conversations about my future direction, so it's probably best to keep that to myself and just do my best to manage everyone's expectations.

[jasonman]

So, another update - we are now in contract with a house in Virginia! We've also been ramping up the packing activity, which is making things now much more "real" to me. Soon, friends, I'll be breaking out of Shawshank, LOL.

The home is nicer than what we thought we'd find. It was put on the market 3 months ago, reduced several times and the last reduction put it just above our maximum. So, we put in a take-it-or-leave-it offer of about 10k less than asking. They countered with some non-price contract changes (earnest money, etc) and we accepted. So, barring inspection issues, we now have a place to land! We also put a longer, 40-day closing time on the offer because both the current owners and ourselves will need time to get everything together.

The timing on everything is going to be very tight, though, and it does have me stressed out that 4 real estate closings need to be done by December. This is a record-breaker for us, folks: Including the condo sales earlier this year, that means SIX transactions in one year. (What we're doing is basically the real estate equivalent of rebalancing our portfolio) So, on the books currently, there's the VB place, which should be done by early Nov., the sale of our current home (which we will start immediately after we get our stuff packed) and the 2 rental places.

Those 2 rentals are causing me the most stress right now. We signed up for them in the spring, when we had no plans for moving, but now that everything has gone completely in a different direction, our budget now needs to include an additional surprise home purchase. I spoke with the rep for them with the hopes of maybe removing one, even though I was loathe to do it as they will be great investments. But, he said that because things are so close to done, we'd lose our earnest money if we pulled out. Instead, he offered to delay the close, so we've pushed it out until about Nov. Still, it's going to be a lot going on and cash will be tight to get all of this done. We've also asked my parents to borrow a bit as a cushion. But, things will be fine once we have cash-in-hand from the CA home sale, so we're also pushing hard to get that done ASAP.

We've also decided on adding a contingency to the sale of our CA home, a one month rent-back, which will buy us some time. I'm hoping that will get us into late December/early Jan so I have the option to work until after the new year and get the end-of-year bonus. I don't think it'll be a super-big amount, maybe another 15k, but it might be worth it if I can stomach another few weeks.

It's funny, when I started getting the "real" numbers from the lender, which included escrow and closing costs, I started looking at our bank statements. It triggered a major freak-out because I was not able to save ANY of my salary for two months. (Luckily, investment income kept coming in!) I'm used to a specific savings rate, but there's been a lot of expenses (the biggest expense was the 2-week visit to VB, escrow on the 2 rentals, and a non-RE investment of 10k) and I was surprised and upset at how fast we burned through cash. But, what's worse was how this showed what a bad relationship I have with money and FIRE in general. That's why I term this life shift as an escape / bail-out / surrender, because calling it a retirement transition implies that it's something gentle, measured and planned. But looking back, I shouldn't be surprised at how this is going. My whole journey has been a series of these types of nerve-wracking moments and I can't wait until the FIRE train pulls into the station so I can get off.

Just a couple more months, folks!

[jasonman]

I haven't posted in a while, so thought I'd give an update. We're still in escrow with the Virginia home. After inspection, we found several smaller problems. No dealbreakers, though. The sellers came back with a 2500 credit but, after we did an estimate on the fixups, we found that the total would be over $5k. I think the sellers got a little scared that we'd walk, so they contacted us and said they'd do those fixes themselves. We were fine with that and accepted.

The loan for the place became more of an ordeal than I expected. Normally, for all of the other loans, things were pretty smooth, but I was also using lenders that were familiar with my status. This one, though, really ran us through the gauntlet - 3 years of tax returns, extensive employment verification, etc. And, they weren't used to dealing with stock-based compensation either, so they had a great deal of trouble just understanding that. But, in the end, I think they're ok with everything now.

The Texas places are also coming due soon, and thankfully I'm less nervous now about the finances. I've been able to save enough to cover the costs plus a cushion and also got some rehab funds from my folks. We also finally got our tax return in for '14 and only owed a small amount. According to the GFE for Texas, the initial estimates I got for closing were very precise, so no surprises there either. Worst-case scenario, my blackout dates are ending for the company stock plan, so I can always sell some to cover extra costs. After we've moved, I'm thinking more and more about starting contributions to an index fund. It'll be better than just keeping a contingency fund in the bank and would be interesting to compare it's performance with my regular investments.

We've been continuing to pack and rehab the last of the outstanding projects. The landscapers are almost finished with the front yard. We repainted the bedroom and redid the baseboards over the weekend. Was very productive except for the last hour, when I kicked over a bucket of paint onto the carpet! It's ruined, so now we'll have to replace the carpet on the second floor before sale. My god, was I mad at myself! But, in general, doing the house work was fun in a way. My wife and I used to do reno projects when we had rental units locally and it made me think back on those early days. Good memories. It's funny, it was stressful when we were doing it, but over time, the mind filters out all of the bad stuff and what you mostly remember is the positives.

I've been thinking more about work too. After reviewing my taxes, I was reminded about the financial upside of my current job, LOL. If I were to keep it, even for a little while when in VaBa, we could do some serious saving, perhaps even saving over 100% of yearly net salary, since the passive income should pay our normal bills with some to spare. But, that's the question, would they let me work from there? A couple of other co-workers have done that, so there is a precedent. So, when the time comes, I MAY see what they say about me staying on board. But, is this just me displaying one-more-year syndrome? Or, should I just make a clean break and call it done?

On the local RE front, we've had a couple more homes in the neighbourhood go pending. The turnaround was really quick (less than 2 weeks on each) so I'm guessing that the offers were all over-asking. I'm anxious to get us on the market, especially since Thanksgiving is coming up, after which the market usually slows a bit. I just hope no-one balks at our rent-back plan.

I've also been trying to schedule some time with friends before I go. It's going to be important to make everyone feel like they've had some time with us. But, even after we move, I have a feeling that we'll be back often to the Bay Area to visit, even just for a long weekend. Plus, some friends travel a lot, so now we'll have more time to meet up with them and travel together.

Has anyone moved and been able to take their job with them? What were the pros and cons? Was it worth it?

[jasonman]

So, at long last, we have closed on our new place! Here, DW and I have been working on the home and organizing the things that need done; we're continuing to pack and cleanse/junk any useless stuff, we've replaced the carpet, done some paint and flooring touchups, and the place is now looking very nice. DW has also been selling a lot of things out of the garage to make room for our moving boxes. It's getting more and more real and the focus now is on getting to the point of listing it. We're also going to be getting moving quotes this week. I anticipate that it'll be at least 10k to do it, after talking with a friend who did a similar move, so that's what we're budgeting.

Work-wise, things continue to slowly degrade. Each time we get more news, it's not just a change, it's always a small step backward, a small withdrawl. As I've always known, this is a very expensive place to run a business and have employees, so now we're up against things like hiring freezes nearly everywhere and general tightening up of finances. Just as an example: they've been after me about doing a lead position and after some time, I finally accepted. But shortly afterward, the official word was "let's not do org changes this year" and the potential move was rescinded the next day. And, with each piece of news about org and policy changes, I'm more and more sure that my plan is the right thing to do. Ultimately, it's just too much of a risk to stay put in a high COL area and, in proper gold-rush style, it's best to "get while the gettin's good". As I'm spending time packing up, I sometimes think how much more stressful this would be if I were pushed into unemployment and I'm grateful that I'm able to choose my time.

This trajectory has also colored my opinion about when to tell them the news. I've been on the fence about it and was very close several times. But, I always held off and I now see that it was the right thing to do. Employers don't really need all that much time to decide/reorgainize during a change like this (certainly much less time than I'll need) and telling them early will just do more harm than good.

But, OTOH, because of this trajectory, it's less and less likely that they'll want me working remotely. So, I've started investigating things to do post-move. I'm looking at meetups to join and giving some thought about what I'd like to do to keep me busy when I'm there. Maybe some writing, getting back into music, regular exercise, all of these things could be part of the new picture. But, even with the change in location and lifestyle, old habits die hard, so I'm still concerned about relying on my investment income. Over the past several years, it's proven to be pretty stable but money continues to be a stress on me. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be able to let that go.

I haven't talked much about the financial side of my life, mainly because my strategy is pretty pedestrian and finances are usually beaten to death on FIRE sites. But, in short, I'm a real estate investor with a handful of doors plus some non-debt income based on real estate notes. This path has been good to me, but I tend to get too obsessive about investing, so my focus now is developing interests and hobbies other than "increasing cashflow". Still, I think expanding my interests will be a challenge after the "shine" has come off of the FIRE lifestyle and so I want to develop a social network for us once we get there.

I've also been thinking what a risk relying on an employer is. I was lucky that the demand for my skills continue to be high, but that's not a guaranteed thing. At best, people should really never think of working as a long-term proposition if they can help it.

[jasonman]

Well, long time no post. I've been very busy dealing with this change and lots has happened since my last post. On the housing front, we got the house on the market before Thanksgiving and had a few open houses. There was an offer that came in, but I've done enough real estate deals to recognize a tire-kicker when I see one, so I let it go. After the open houses, no more offers, so we decided to pull the home off the market for the holidays.

But, it's funny - pulling the listing generated more interest than even posting it did. Everyone wanted to know what happened to the listing, so we told them it was just for the holidays and that we'd repost it. And, out of that, we got a buyer that was willing to pay full ask, so we're now in contract. The inspection turned up a couple of smaller issues, we've negotiated a bit of a credit to them, so I think they're going to be ok with it. Nothing in the list is a pressing concern, more just to-do-eventually stuff.

I've taken some time off for the holidays so we are now doing the final packing. We've decided to shoot for booking the big moving truck next week, after which DW and I will fly out with our pets and she'll stay there while I come back for work. I'll probably be staying with a friend once the house closes, so that will need to be looked at too. All of this is because of those 2 rental units that are still dragging on. I really should have just backed out and it would be less headache, but it's a little late for that. Now, they're telling me the date is end of January and they are confident that this will happen, so I've locked a rate. By then, I'll probably have the proceeds of the house in hand, so all will be more stabilized.

Work-wise, things are continuing to look on a downward trend. Before my holidays, I had a last conversation with my boss and he basically said that it would be a good idea to look around in the company for another position! He was very evasive about it, though, and didn't know about anything specific, it was just his feeling. But, still, at this point, it's possible I'll come back from holidays to a layoff. All the more reason to be very glad that I'm so far along on my plan. I did appreciate the heads-up, even as just a verification of what I already thought.

We've already put one of our cars into non-operation, registration-wise, so that will be shipped out at roughly the same time as the truck. So, we're down to just my small car.

Looking forward, not to the move, but to just getting it done and being there without problems. This move is a surprising amount of work and we have so little time, I'm nervous about it. Also, having to fly out is an irritation to me, I do NOT want to do that, but my wife won't be able to handle the pets on her own. More expenses, more stress, looking forward to just Getting. It. Done.

[George the original one]

Congratulations on the home sale!

[jasonman]

So, it's been another long time since the last posting. Things have been very busy, but I'll share the basics of how things shook out. My apologies in advance for the long post!

First off, the house sale. After some inspections were done, we found out that for months (or even years!) we had a small hole at the bottom of our dishwasher tub. It has been slowly dripping with each use and we had a big mold problem underneath it. I had thought that it would spell the end of the sale, but our buyers stuck it out, so we did too. We had to rip most of our kitchen apart to take care of the problem (while we were also packing to move, mind you!) and because the buyers were so adamant about end-of-month move-in, they agreed to accept the house without a functioning kitchen. The realtor on the other end was a real dick about things too, constantly riding us when we were already stressed out to the max.

Honestly, this was another one of those times where spending a little more on having movers pack us up would have been a very good move. But, I insisted that we could do it ourselves and we ended up leaving a lot of things behind. Penny-wise, pound-foolish. In retrospect, we maybe should have just cancelled the deal as soon as we found mold. It would have allowed us to fix it at our convenience instead of things being really rushed and crazy.

Work-wise, my suspicions about a layoff were confirmed. About 2 weeks before we were set to close on the house, I got the layoff notice. The severance was really pretty good and because I didn't just quit, it allowed me to apply for unemployment insurance, which has really been helping. There were a couple of people that left about a month prior, so they didn't get anything. Anyway, the funny thing about it was that even though I was expecting (or even hoping) for a layoff, it still did take the wind out of my sails a bit and there was some grieving. If something lasts for that long, even if you don't particularly enjoy it, it does become part of your routine; you get used to going there, the activities and seeing the people, so changing is an adjustment. And, given how fast everything changed for us, we're still adjusting even now.

The original plan I had was this; while I waited for things to wrap up at work, we'd still sell the house and my wife would move out there before me. A friend of ours in California recently decided to put one of her spare rooms up for rent, so I'd move in there and just wait, suitcase literally in hand. If no layoff happened by, say, April, then we'd reassess and maybe I'd just give my notice. So, the timing really was pretty good.

Anyway, after we got to Virginia, hopes were high and the first month was having some fun, unpacking and working on the house here and there. We got the carpets cleaned, fixed some smaller things and found out some of the things that the inspector missed. The big one we found, though, was some rats in the attic which was due to improperly closed roofing / eaves. Thankfully, we worked out a deal with the real estate agent and inspector that they would pay for the physical fix for the roof and we paid for the pest removal and sanitization. After that, no bad issues were uncovered, just smaller maintenance things that we took care of. Seeing as we weren't there physically when the deal went down, I probably should have hired two different inspectors on different days and compared the two reports. I have a feeling that the inspector really phoned it in.

I came out to Virginia to try out what it would be like to retire and to test my finances a bit. But since I'm claiming unemployment, I feel like I should put some effort into looking for work. Nothing frantic, just a few applications a week, enough to test the waters and hedge my bets. The point really isn't to get a job right away, but to get to know the employers in the area, what they're looking for and to find out about job market details, salary ranges, etc.

Here's what I've found out. Firstly, there's a lot of government / military work, both full time and contract, which is great. But the bad news is that I don't qualify for the large majority of those jobs. (Citizenship is required to get security clearances.)

Secondly, the salary ranges around here are lower than California (of course) but almost on par with what I expected for senior level work, which is good. But, I've had some interviews and the feedback that I've received is that my skills are a bit out of date and also not as good of a match as what employers are looking for here. This isn't a surprise to me; this past year, I was really burned out and wasn't interested in doing much, especially with a semi-retirement on the horizon.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's hard to hear, even if it is expected. But, on the other hand, how concerned should I really be about it? I wanted to take some time off anyway, and I can't expect skills to be as sharp after that. And, I want to be positive about things so I feel like it wouldn't be impossible for me to get back into it if I want it to happen. Take a couple of small courses, do a couple indie projects to showcase my latest skills, and that would probably do it.